207 series (JR West)
The 207 series is a Japanese electric multiple unit. Built in 1991 for JR West, the set is used on various local services on various lines around the west of Japan. This train is not to be confused with the 207 series built for JR East in 1986; both trains are unrelated apart from designations. History As the first train designed by JR West after JNR was privatized, the first 207 series set, seven-car set F1, was delivered in 1991 and began service on 30 April 1991 on the Katamachi Line. More cars were delivered in the following years. Production ended in 2003 as focus had shifted to the then-upcoming 321 series which would enter service in 2005. Design The 207 series adopted a modern design language which would be carried on onto more modern trains used by JR West, such as the 321 series. Specifications Construction is of stainless steel. Each car is 20 meters long. As of 2018, the 207 series use a variety of variable frequency drives, such as a variable frequency drive making use of a combination of thyristor choppers and a three-level power transistor manufactured by Mitsubishi, gate turn-off thyristor variable frequency drives manufactured by Toshiba or insulated gate bipolar transistor variable frequency drives manufactured by various companies, such as two types by Toshiba or Mitsubishi. Some variants of the IGBT drives manufactured by Toshiba seem to have a hybrid of GTO and IGBT elements in it, making for a very unique cadence, while another made by Mitsubishi produces what seems to be a very loud screeching noise. The 207 series is equipped with a musical horn which is standard on most of JR West's commuter fleet. Incidents On 25 April 2005, four-car set Z16 and three-car set S18 coupled in a seven-car formation were involved in an accident, dubbed the Amagasaki rail crash, the most serious train-related incident in Japan since the Tsurumi rail accident involving a JNR Class EF15 and a KuMoHa 42 series set in 1963. All cars of set Z16 and one car of set S18 derailed; said cars were later scrapped. 107 people died as a result of the crash. Around 9:19am JST, the two sets derailed around a curve on the Fukuchiyama Line, with set Z16 leading. All cars of set Z16 derailed, with car 1 ramming into the parking lot of an apartment building, car 2 colliding into the external wall of the same building and was almost completely compacted by cars 3 and 4, which were pushed from the rear by car 5, the first car of set S18. The main cause of the incident still remains unknown to this day, though most investigators have focused on speeding by 23-year old Ryūjirō Takami (who was among the dead), the driver of set Z16, as being the most plausible root cause of the incident. Rather interestingly, twenty-five minutes before the derailment, Takami ran a red light which caused the automatic train stop system of set Z16 to bring it to a halt, but just four minutes before the derailment, Takami overran the platform at Itami Station, which resulted in a 90-second delay. Even more interestingly, Takami received a reprimand for overrunning a station platform by 100 meters ten months before the incident. It is quite likely that at the time of the incident, Takami sped up to make up for lost time by increasing the speed of the consist to 120 km/h (75 mph) on a 70 km/h (43 mph) section of the line. It is also quite likely that at the time of the incident, he was not completely focused on driving as he was more worried about what punishment he would face if he were found out. While the incident is long over, the incident still takes a prominent place on the homepage of JR West's website. References *Wikipedia.org Category:JR Group trains Category:Electric Trainsets Category:Hitachi locomotives Category:Kawasaki locomotives Category:Kinki Sharyo locomotives